Bark Busters Home Dog Training Los Gatos & Morgan Hill -

Lynn M.

We adopted an adult dog in March, reached out to Bark Busters for information, and spoke with Paula, who was so generous with information that very first call. We got the training started, and have learned so much. We've been delighted with Paula herself, her training style, knowledge of what dogs are telling us, and seeing the results. She has made training fun and positive every time we meet, so much so that we've recommended Paula to several friends. Great experience, thank you.

Laura C.

I don't even know where to start! My husband and I adopted a puppy last year and, while we adored him from the moment we met him, we had no idea how to handle his strong headed puppy shenanigans. He was a tornado of destruction, and could not be contained! We were stressed to say the least, so I took to the internet for guidance, only to find tons of unhelpful conflicting/strong opinions and articles about what's right and what's wrong. We needed real help! So I found Bark Busters, and from the first time I spoke with Paula I felt so reassured! She was compassionate about our lack of experience with puppies, and very effectively taught us how to communicate with our pup! She really went above and beyond from teaching us basics, to coming up with creative solutions for particular behaviors that we needed to address with him. She made sure that we had the support we needed to train him well. Now, he enjoys showing off his good manners when we go on walks. We get so many compliments every time we take him out about how well behaved he is. My husband and I often talk about how much of a difference Paula has made in our lives and we will forever be grateful to her for helping us learn how to raise a truly amazing dog (can we hire her when we have children?!)! There are few things in life more rewarding than a loyal and obedient four legged companion! Paula even made raising a puppy such a great experience for us that we decided to adopt another one! If you need help training your dog, you won't find anyone better than Paula!

Dakin C.

Paula is not just a trainer for dogs but a trainer for owners. Her professionalism, creativity and clear methods for understanding dog personalities and how to interact with them changed our relationship for the better with our puppy. Oliver was able to sit, stay, wait and heel within a short period of time at a very young age and still heeds all of our commands to this day. If you want lasting results and solid training, I would highly recommend Paula!

Erik N.

Paula has been an amazing asset to our household. We have 2 young Australian Cattle dogs (1 is deaf and the other was practically uncontrollable) and she has done an amazing job training us how to gain the role of leaders in our pack.

Her extensive background in studying animal behavior gives her a true understanding of how we should be interacting with our dogs to gain their trust and respect. It’s not a program of treat rewards, but rather teaching us how animals react and perceive our behavior and giving us the tools to gain command of the household. In gaining the role of leaders, our dogs learned to trust us and respond to our commands. It’s no longer a constant battle with them, but now they look to us for leadership and guidance.

We were beyond frustrated and having conversations about whether we would be able to live with these dogs. We had studied and read and searched for answers on how to train our dogs and get things under control. We had also worked with another trainer who was clearly not equipped to deal with the challenge of our dogs.

Walter, our male is very dog aggressive and can also be this way with humans, as well. We could not even take him for walks as he would lunge and bark uncontrollably at every passing person and dog. He was even getting aggressive with us from time to time and it was coming to the point where we had no idea how he would react at any given time.

We started working with Paula after the COVID shutdown and she suggested we get started right away using Zoom and Facetime. We had meetings to discuss our concerns and struggles and that would be followed by her doing virtual training sessions with us in our home and yard and eventually that lead to her going on walks with us with the dogs while she observed and guided us through facetime. I was skeptical of the thought of doing virtual training, but she has been amazing. With the ability to observe us with our dogs, she could immediately identify the problems because of her expert background in animal behavior. Paula give us the tools of how to adjust how we were interacting with them.

We have now had the chance to work with her in person while social distancing at a local park where she continues guide us down path of understanding what our dogs need.

Walter is now responding to our input and looking to us for guidance. He is a work in progress, but we are now taking him to the beach and on walks around our neighborhood and understand now how to get him in control when he has a moment. Our household is now peaceful, and our dogs are trusting us more and more every day!

She is amazingly patient with all of our questions and concerns. Our sessions always start with a summary of how things are going since our last visit, and she uses that information to shape the session based on our input. What I am trying to say is, she does not have a program that based on a schedule and structure of a rigid path. She is always adjusting and tweaking to our needs and pace of our training.

I would not hesitate to recommend Paula to family, friends and complete strangers. She is one of a kind and WILL help you to live a more peaceful life with your pets.

Do not hesitate to reach out and meet with her. You will not regret the decision.

Radha R.

Paula is amazing! She is very responsive to any questions or concerns I have and immediately replies to my text messages. I have an 8 year Boston Bulldog that is very stubborn to say the least and has no respect for any of us in the house. I guess he could get away with just about anything. I tried several training programs over the years, the effect of which did not last longer than a few months. Paula did a few training sessions on Zoom with me and at the dog park. The results are amazing. Bosco responds to my commands and walking has improved significantly. I highly recommend Paula!

Toby M.

We knew we had our work cut out for us the minute our 6-month old Fox Terrier, Lucy, joined our family! Lucy needed serious attention in house training and obedience and our family was looking for results FAST.

We had already tried a couple of different training options for Lucy before being introduced to Paula Hinz from Bark Busters Home Dog Training, and after talking with Paula she came across as a knowledgeable expert with lots of experience with lots of different breeds, so we felt good about inviting her to our home.

It was amazing to watch Lucy’s immediate response to Paula’s training and the Bark Busters’ methods as of the first day! Over the following few weeks, Paula trained our entire family to provide Lucy with the exercises and training she needed. With Paula’s guidance, advice, and follow-ups, the results we were looking for materialized very quickly and we are very grateful for that.

We wouldn’t have any hesitations in recommending Paula Hinz and Bark Busters Home Dog Training to anyone who cares about providing the best available training for their furry friends.

Kosuke O.

Paula is so amazing and I can't recommend her enough to all the dog owners. Our dog Arrow was very hard to control and stop him from barking at other dogs. He has now stopped barking all together and follows our direction very well!

Paula is very supportive and couldn't have asked for a better trainer!

Lisa M.

I adopted a 4 month old German Shepherd last year from a rescue organization. He was a sweet-natured and social puppy, but would pull and bark on-leash when we saw other dogs. The bigger he got, the more frightening this looked to people, and the more embarrassed I felt. I knew he was going to be big (he's 108 pounds now...), so I engaged Paula to both give him a good start, and to deal with this behavior (I say "his" behavior - but really I mean mine...).
With previous dogs I had tried multiple training styles, ranging from reward-based encouragement to e-collar corrections. I was drawn to Bark Busters because of the balanced approach - there's a consequence for bad behavior that I'm comfortable with; and recognition for good behavior that doesn't lead to any kind of food expectation. Paula is pretty hard core. She has a lot of knowledge and experience; she's firm; she knows what she's doing and my dog knows it and I know it because she lets me know it! The first time she came over, she gave us great tips to use, and she fixed his whining when we left his sight - he learned quickly to be patient, and to wait, and to not push through doors. On subsequent visits: how to heel - not slightly ahead, nor slightly behind, but right at my leg. How to wait for us to cross thresholds or climb the stairs. Many things to do with respect and leadership.
About 8 months into my year with Paula I got a little complacent (lazy I guess) - she had always reiterated you MUST practice and be consistent at home; nothing's going to change if you only practice these techniques when Paula visits, and then you slack off in between. She really drilled this into me on one of our trips to the beach for a public walk, when it was clear I'd let him get away with being a brat for a while - he listened to her, but he knew he didn't have to listen to me, and her goal was and always has been that I become the focus. At the time, I wasn't, and I was pretty annoyed with myself for not trying. (I tried blaming work, but she wouldn't have it...)
That lesson was the best one - I really got it, what she was saying, and how effective she was, because she used many more techniques on that session to really get him in line - and to get me in line. I'll always appreciate her directness with me that day. After that, I did a lot better - I used the new techniques she'd taught me around getting his attention (stopping, slowing, speeding up, changing sides, etc.), and I employed it on walks. I changed his collar to one she recommended and it completely changed my experience with managing him through distractions.
So in short: my dog is 1.5 years old now. I can take him anywhere. I took him to an art and wine festival last weekend, where he walked around many people and dogs, and was perfectly-behaved. People come up all the time to tell me he's the tallest shepherd they've ever seen, and he sits for their attention, seems to love it. I took him for a week in Tahoe, where he went off leash on trails and greeted people and dogs very calmly and displayed great recall and self-control; on leash, he ignored any scenes other dogs created and walked on by (I'm SO happy about this development especially). I feel like I have his attention. We have better trust between us. It's not "work" anymore - I'm motivated to keep it up, because I love the freedom it gives us to go anywhere, no matter the level of potential distractions. Without Paula, I would NOT be at this place with him, so I am extremely grateful to her and I highly recommend her business.